Bitten
by sapereaude13
Summary: A challenge issued by the BalthierAshe LJ community was to make Balthier a vampire. So well, I guess I kind of did, kind of didn't. Borderline crackfic? Probably. Amusing? Hopefully! BalthierAshe. Spoilers through Archades.


They were surrounded. The horrific creatures of Sochen had all seemed to sense their arrival, and as Ashe slashed at the monsters, she felt the already cool chamber drop several more degrees in temperature. She stood back to back with Basch, desperately trying to beat back their attackers. In the distance, she could hear Balthier's gun crack every few moments and Vaan and Penelo's fevered cries as they attacked the slimy animated corpses that inhabited the place. Ashe had not seen anything of this like before and had only heard about them in outlandish stories, but now that she could see their empty, gaping faces, she believed them all.

"Get together!" Basch cried out, and the six of them moved to form a tight circle to defend themselves from the creatures that seemed to rise up from the floor, and there seemed to be no end in sight to them. She felt slight warmth as Balthier stood beside her, the light cotton of his shirt brushing against her arm as he added more shot to his gun. Basch and the children seemed to be having a measure of success on their side.

"We run, this way!" Fran cried, and she and Basch began cutting them a path through the weaker side of the circle. Penelo was already chanting a healing spell for an injured Vaan as she ran, and Ashe turned to Balthier. He nodded and they hurried after the group. But as Ashe turned to run, she felt a pull against her ankle holding her in place. It took all of her courage not to scream in terror as one of the creatures was emerging from a mound of dust on the ground, its still-forming fingers gripping her much more tightly than she could have expected.

Balthier was already a few paces ahead, and she finally found her voice. "Balthier, wait!" she cried, and he turned around. She tried to slash at the creature while it rose, but as it continued to hold her, she felt a growing paralysis in her limbs. Was it poisoning her? The sky pirate came hurrying back, and she watched him swing the butt of his gun at the creature's head. The creature's other icy cold hand began to grip the armor on her other leg, and she could barely raise her sword. Finally, Balthier landed a solid blow against the thing's head. "I can't move!" Ashe shouted. The grip on her legs seemed to finally loosen as Balthier hit the creature again, and he was able to tug her along, his warm fingers around her wrist a welcome relief from the deathly chilled digits of the creature.

It appeared that the rest of their party had gotten ahead of them, and they hurried as quickly as they could. Her legs still felt cold and stiff, and it was a struggle to put one foot in front of the other. She could hear more of the creatures rising from the dust behind them, and her heart was pounding in her chest in her barely suppressed fright.

Suddenly the presence of Balthier's hand around her wrist was gone, and she felt him trip beside her. Ashe thrust a hand out to grab him as he fell, but she could only watch as he landed hard on the cave floor, his gun falling from his hands and clattering across the ground and skidding out of reach. Whirling around to see what had caused his fall, she saw that very same creature had followed them, its blackened eye sockets nearly freezing her in place. The thing had wrapped its hands around Balthier's leg, and she watched the usually collected sky pirate cry out in surprise. She did the only thing she could think to do – she bent down and tugged the sky pirate's arm around her shoulders and tried to drag him away.

She pulled with all her strength, and Balthier was doing his best to struggle free from the creature's grasp. "What the hell is that thing?" the sky pirate exclaimed as she tried to lift him from the cave floor. Balthier kicked at it with his other leg, but she could tell the paralysis she'd felt earlier was already setting in. And that was when Balthier cried out in pain. Ashe nearly fell forward as the creature immediately released the pirate, and she heard Balthier muttering angry curses.

"We need to hurry!" she shouted, and she managed to pull him to his feet and she half-ran with and half-dragged Balthier off in the direction the others had run. She didn't know if the thing would attack again, and they had no time to retrieve his weapon as they hurried off. Balthier was still swearing with every step. They finally reached the others, and Fran rushed over to help Balthier to sit on the cave floor. The party was now safe for the time being in a chamber of the old palace, and Basch blocked the entrance with the ancient remains of what could have been furniture.

Ashe knelt at Balthier's side and was alarmed by the way his face was sweaty and pale. Fran was already tending to his leg, and Ashe saw that he'd actually been wounded by the creature. "The bastard bit me!" the sky pirate was remarking in his shock, and both Fran and Penelo were attempting to cure him while Vaan dug through their packs for some potions. Ashe could only stare in surprise as blood dripped from a large tear in Balthier's trousers near his shin.

"Does it hurt?" Vaan asked quietly, and Balthier shot him a dirty look. Fran began to bandage the wound, and the Princess felt incredibly guilty as Balthier tried his best to mask the pain he was experiencing. Ashe stood up and took a few shaky steps over to Basch.

"I fell behind and he helped me, and because of that he's been hurt," she muttered quietly. "We have to go back and retrieve his gun. He just bought it at the Phon Coast, and he needs to be able to defend himself."

Basch shook his head. "My lady, it is too dangerous to wander back in there right now. We will rest and plan our next course of…"

"Balthier!"

Penelo's voice pierced the air, and Ashe looked around to see the sky pirate had passed out. Ashe hurried over and knelt down to see a look of concern on his partner's face. Fran met her eyes. "He needs more medical attention than we have here. This bite is serious."

Vaan knelt down and placed a hand to Balthier's forehead. "He's burning up! It's infected already?"

Fran shook her head and pressed a gentle hand to Balthier's shoulder. "I think it is far worse than a mere infection. Did you see what bit him?"

Ashe described the creature that had attacked them both and the paralysis that had nearly frozen them in place. As she spoke, she watched Fran's features darken. The Viera lifted her head to shift her gaze to Basch. "Captain, we must get him to Archades."

Basch sighed. "Can we safely transport him like this? It will reduce our numbers since at least two of us must carry him."

Ashe rose to her full height. Balthier's assistance had been invaluable to her on this journey, and as much as she would never admit it out loud, she'd grown rather attached to him. She would not sit around and do nothing. "We will take turns. Let us get moving. Balthier does not have the luxury of time." Basch gave her a concerned glance, and she hoped that he figured she was still shaken up about the events in the cave.

They spent the next few hours slogging through the abandoned palace. The creatures in this part of the cave were no less vicious than the earlier ones they'd faced, but their numbers were smaller, and they were able to transport Balthier with little trouble. Ashe had never thought she'd miss Balthier's ever-present sarcastic commentary on matters, and she knew he'd have plenty of it saved up for whenever he awoke. She was prepared to dish it right back, seeing how heavy he was as dead weight. Fran was on his other side and seemed to struggle very little, and Ashe wished that she was stronger.

Ashe barely had time to register the slums of Old Archades as they emerged from the depths of the cave palace. Fran apparently knew the area and was able to negotiate some accommodations for them. Ashe had to hold in a complaint at the filthy home they were now to occupy for the night. There were rooms enough for all of them, and they all agreed to give the cleanest to Balthier. Fran and Basch lifted the sky pirate onto the straw mattress, and Ashe could only watch. Balthier was still unconscious, and his usually expressive face was more of a pale mask after hours of trudging through the caves.

Fran took the children with her in hopes of finding a physician quickly, and Basch remained at their accommodations with her since their faces might be recognized in the streets of the capital. Basch sat against the wall with an arm resting upon his knee as she pressed a damp rag against the sky pirate's hot forehead. This was far more than a fever, and she hoped that Fran would be successful in finding some cure for whatever infection the creature had caused. The wound on Balthier's leg was still bleeding, and they were running out of clean bandaging materials.

They'd been without sleep for nearly an entire day as Ashe watched the sun setting through the dirtied window pane. Basch had had even less sleep than her since he always insisted on taking the last watch in the evening. "He will be fine, Majesty," Basch said quietly, his voice taking on an air of reassurance.

She dipped the rag into the pail of water at her feet and squeezed off the excess. Balthier's skin was still burning hot as she returned the dampened cloth to his forehead. "I hope Fran finds a real doctor, if that's even possible in a slum like this."

Basch's voice was lighter than she'd heard it in years. "I've found that sky pirates are very resourceful companions to keep in one's company. I trust she will find some solution."

Ashe nodded, but her eyes could not drift away from Balthier's prone form. It was strange to see him like this. He had probably been injured the least of all of them on this journey since he stayed back and let his gun do the talking for him in battle. But he'd been the one to turn back and assist her, and now he'd been bitten by something that might have bitten her first if he hadn't been there. She let her fingers drift over the soft cloth of his sleeve, knowing that Balthier would be grumbling about the stains marring its appearance after so many hours in the dank cave. She could feel through his shirt that his arm was just as warm as his face. "We need to get him some blankets. This fever may kill him before that bite will."

She heard Basch stand behind her, his feet scraping across the creaking old floor. "I will see if there are some in the other rooms." Ashe listened to him depart, and suddenly, she felt nervous. She had not been completely alone with the sky pirate since their discussion on the beach several days ago. The Princess smiled and shook her head. It was not as if Balthier was going to take advantage of her in his current condition, but he'd caught her staring at him several times since then, and it appeared to amuse him a great deal. She pressed the back of her hand against his cheek and wished that he would awaken and say something. She wanted to thank him. So often Balthier could be blunt or teasing, but seeing him rendered utterly silent was unnerving. Ashe actually found herself missing his voice, and she let her shaking fingers drift down to his lips.

A throat was cleared behind her, and she snatched her hand back from his face quickly. She did not miss the slightly annoyed expression Basch was quickly hiding as he stood beside her. "It is warm enough in here that I will not need my blanket tonight. I found a few more in the armoire down the hall." Ashe felt her cheeks redden, and she stood up to take the first blanket off the pile. She would not meet her knight's gaze as she settled the blanket over Balthier. "Perhaps you should take a rest, Highness." She nodded quickly and pulled the blanket to the sky pirate's neck.

"Yes, I'm feeling rather tired," she mumbled in her embarrassment. Basch had already warned her about taking an interest in Balthier after he'd seen them talking so animatedly on the coast. She left Basch with his arms full of blankets and hurried from the room. Ashe resisted the urge to run back and tell Basch to mind his own business but that would only confirm aloud what Ashe was not entirely ready to admit.

She'd claimed the next room over for her own and slammed the door shut. Balthier was their link to the Draklor Laboratory, and they could do nothing until he was recovered. Ashe abhorred idleness, and she was almost tempted to find a tavern and a mark hunt to distract herself from her growing worry. She wished that she had not become so dependent on Balthier and that combined with her growing feelings for him was leaving her in a real panic. Ashe tried to lie down on the uncomfortable mattress but could only stare up at the dreadfully stained ceiling. The wall beside the bed had chipping paint, and she began to pick at it with her fingernails.

The time finally began to pass as she watched the specks of paint rain down behind the mattress. At some point, she fell asleep. There was the sound of a door slamming close by, and she opened her eyes. The walls were thin enough, and she could hear Fran and Basch and a third voice talking quietly in the room next door. Ashe hoped that it was a doctor or a healer of some sort. Her mind immediately drifted to the thought of how much a healer's services would cost them, and they were running low on gil as it was. But she would sell whatever jewels she had remaining to her to ensure Balthier's recovery.

A quick glance out the window revealed that night had already fallen on the slums of the Archadian capital. She rose from the mattress and peered out into the streets. It was seemingly devoid of people, and she hoped that the neighborhood would stay relatively calm so that Balthier could heal. Standing close to the opposite wall, she could hear Vaan and Penelo's snores. They were undoubtedly exhausted from the cave palace and from racing the Archadian streets that afternoon. There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she called, and Fran entered. Ashe couldn't tell if her face was concerned or not since she often appeared solemn and unemotional.

The Viera approached her. "We have engaged the services of a healer, but there is not much she can do for him at present. The wound is rather serious. She has left a draught for Balthier, and hopefully that will reduce the fever and the swelling in his leg."

"What about the actual infection?" Ashe asked quietly.

Fran sighed. "She'd never seen a bite like it before. Although…"

"Although what?"

She almost thought the Viera was smiling. "The healer seems to think it is something out of a fairy tale. She thinks he's been attacked by the Tepes."

Ashe quirked an eyebrow. "What in Ivalice is that?"

Fran moved to sit on the mattress. She rarely let her exhaustion show, but she'd worked hard to help her partner that day. "Basch knows of it. It is a legend from Landis. A creature that passes on a thirst for Hume blood through its bite."

"Like a vampire bat?"

Fran nodded. "I suppose that is an appropriate comparison. But there is a very…interesting way of defeating those who have suffered from a Tepes bite."

"Wait…defeating?"

"Yes, the healer is convinced that Balthier will awaken and try to kill us. So in the event that happens, we must stab him through the heart with a wooden spear or stake."

Ashe could not believe what she was hearing. Perhaps she was still sleeping and this conversation wasn't even happening. Did Fran just imply that they needed to kill Balthier? "We have to stab him?"

"As I said, it is a fairy tale. Basch seems to be weighing his options and accepted a stake from the healer."

Ashe was stunned. Why were they even entertaining this ridiculous idea? "But we'd kill him!"

Fran almost appeared ready to laugh hysterically, if Viera were even capable of such things. "The Captain has explained that you stab someone infected by the Tepes and it will bleed out all the infected blood. You can then heal them normally, but you must be quick about it or they will die."

"How quick?"

The Viera smirked. "A matter of seconds, but I have no idea how you would tell infected blood from the genuine article."

Ashe's exasperation was increasing. "And there's really nothing else it could be? Because I am not about to stab Balthier with a wooden stick, much as his usual prattle might annoy me." Fran raised an eyebrow at her comment, and Ashe realized that Basch might have hinted about her increasingly obvious affections for the sky pirate to his partner. She decided to ignore it. "Well, what is the course of action?"

Fran rose from the mattress and moved to the door. "The children need to rest, but we will go in shifts since he'll need the draught every other hour. The Captain is with him now, and I will relieve him in two hours. You can have the last watch if that is alright? If you do not feel safe with Balthier I will…"

"Don't be ridiculous!" she almost shouted, and Fran's expression grew even more amused. Was she really being so obvious? "I will take the third watch. I am sure he will be perfectly healed. This Tepes thing is just a story so that healer could swindle us out of more gil." Really, the thought of Balthier rising from the bed and attacking them? If he was awake to hear this nonsense, he'd probably agree with her.

Fran turned the doorknob and looked back at her. "As you wish, Princess. Get some rest, and I will wake you in four hours." She watched Fran depart and rolled her eyes. Balthier was going to become a monster with a taste for Hume blood? How could Basch and Fran take such a thing into consideration? It was a folk tale and the party's two wisest members acknowledged the possibility of it being true? She wanted to laugh at the thought of Balthier biting anyone. He was truly hurt, and they couldn't be wasting their time with legends and myths.

But if she was to take the final watch over him that night, she needed to rest. When Balthier regained consciousness, she would be the first to relay the ridiculous way everyone had reacted to his infection. She fell asleep once more, thoughts of Balthier trying to attack her filling her with amusement as her eyes drifted closed.

--

She felt strong hands shaking her awake, and Ashe opened her eyes to see Fran's ruby ones hovering above her face. "Sorry to wake you, but it's time."

"Of course, of course," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and rising from the bed. "How is he?"

Balthier's partner walked to the door and shrugged. "It is always strange when Balthier is silent, wouldn't you agree?" Ashe smiled and let Fran continue. "He remains unconscious, but the fever seems to be lessening."

Ashe stretched, the sound of her joints cracking making her feel far older than she was. "He's a much better patient when he's asleep. Should be no trouble at all then."

Fran gave her a wary glance. "If he does awaken, call for one of us."

The Princess chuckled and followed Fran into the hallway. She walked with the Viera to Balthier's door and saw that he was lying in the same position he'd been when she'd departed the room hours earlier. "I can handle an injured pirate, Fran. I suspect that when Balthier wakes he'll be more likely to complain about his stained shirt than try and take a nibble of my flesh."

Fran's face was neutral, but her eyes seemed to sparkle. Ashe looked away and moved into the quiet room. She had only just woken up herself, and she was being careless with her speech. The Viera cleared her throat. "Just call for us, please. We cannot take any chances." The Princess listened to the door shut behind her, and she shook her head.

She walked over to the bed and sat in a chair beside the unconscious pirate. "Did you hear that Balthier? You aren't even awake and your own partner doesn't trust you." Ashe rubbed the bridge of her nose. "And now you have me conversing with myself. Wonderful." She sighed and pressed the back of her hand to Balthier's forehead. The earlier heat had cooled slightly, but he was still running a fever. She made sure his blankets were tucked closely around him, and she wondered if he would do the same if their roles were reversed.

The minutes passed, and Ashe found herself staring at the sky pirate. The wound on his leg had finally stopped bleeding, and aside from the fever, Ashe couldn't detect much else wrong with him. Certainly not anything that would indicate he was going to be a bloodthirsty murderer when he awoke. It was just about time to administer his draught, and she realized that she'd have to get fairly close to hold up his head so he wouldn't choke. She was surprised Basch even allowed her to be in the room to do such a thing.

She picked up the bottle from the floor and read the directions on the label. Two spoons worth every other hour until the fever abates. Seeing no spoon in sight, she supposed that it would be enough to hold the bottle to his lips. Her heart began to race, and she grew irritated with herself. She had no time to consider the appropriateness of the situation – Balthier was ill and needed her help. Ashe sat at the head of the bed and did her best to tug Balthier back against her, pulling underneath his arms to raise him until his head was upright. She didn't know how Fran and Basch had been able to do this successfully since Balthier was heavier than he looked. She would be sure to torture him with this knowledge when he recovered, and the thought amused her greatly.

Ashe removed the cap from the bottle and held it to his lips, cradling the back of his head in her other hand. "Alright Balthier, I sure hope this doesn't taste as bad as it smells." She tipped the bottle back and urged the liquid past his lips. Satisfied that he'd received the proper dosage, she set the bottle down on the bedside chair. Noticing that a bit of the draught had run off to the side of his mouth, she moved to wipe it away with her thumb.

"Mmm, am I in heaven?"

She paused with her thumb hovering over Balthier's lips as he stirred from unconsciousness, his weight against her increasing as he seemed to lean back as if she was his pillow. All of Fran's warnings seemed ridiculous as he sighed in her arms. "Welcome back, Balthier," she mumbled, finally dragging her hand away from his face and shoving him slightly away from her.

"What the hell happened? Where are we?"

She continued to shove him, but he didn't seem to feel like moving, and the weight of his back pressed her between him and the wall. "Would you get off of me please?"

He chuckled and obliged, sliding over in the bed to put his head back down onto the pillow. He finally opened his eyes and looked up at her, the usual smirk finally returning to his face. "Never thought I'd be waking up to find you hovering over me, Princess. Although with the way you've been watching me lately, I suppose I ought to thank the gods for their benevolent ways."

She moved from the bed with a huff and settled the cap back on the draught bottle. "Don't flatter yourself, pirate." She settled the bottle down on the floor and sat in the chair beside him. "You've been unconscious for the better part of a day. We dragged you to the capital and you've been given medicine for your bite. Hence my presence behind you when you awoke."

He propped himself up on his elbows slowly and glanced down at his person. "Hmm, that was a nasty bite. Can barely feel it."

"I suppose the draught I gave you numbs the pain?"

"Could be," he remarked quietly. He returned his eyes to hers and smiled widely. "So how long have you been my nurse?"

She sighed at his tone. Fran and Basch were wrong – Balthier hadn't changed one bit, Tepes bite or no Tepes bite. "Not long. Fran and Basch were tending to you earlier."

"Basch?" Balthier snarled, his face contorting into a glare. "I do not want to imagine him propping me up for my medicine. Thank the gods I woke up when you were here, Princess." He shuddered. "Nightmare fuel, that."

She grinned. "I'm glad to see that you are on the road to a complete recovery." Ashe couldn't resist a chuckle, and Balthier raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you. It's just something Fran was worried about all day."

"Fran was worried about something? That woman wouldn't show worry if her own house was on fire and she was in it."

Ashe shrugged. "She thinks that you're a danger to us on account of your bite. She thinks you've been bitten by a…by the Tepes. Have you heard of that?" She explained what Fran had told her when the sky pirate shook his head.

Balthier raised a hand to his forehead and laughed. "You must be kidding!"

"I wish I was," she muttered, picking up the wooden stake Basch had accepted from the floor beside the bed. She waved it around teasingly and set it back down. This only incited Balthier to further laughter, and she couldn't help but join him. They laughed in unison for a few moments until he reached out and snatched her hand. She couldn't help jumping at that, and he laughed louder.

He ran his thumb over her knuckles and smiled. "Oh, look at you, Princess. The mighty Ashelia B'Nargin jumping at the slightest thing. Shameful, really." Balthier turned her hand over and pressed a kiss to her palm, his lips lingering there far longer than Ashe knew was appropriate. His lips were warm, and she realized that she was enjoying it. His features were more serious when he raised his face from her palm. "Thank you. I know I'm not the most agreeable when I'm laid up." He gave her fingers a squeeze, and she could feel her pulse increasing ever more.

"You're welcome," she whispered in reply. "I couldn't bear the idea that you were injured trying to assist me. If anything happened to you, I mean…this isn't your battle, really, and if something went wrong, I could never forgive myself."

"Careful, Princess. If the good Captain were to hear you confessing like a maid to her priest, you'd be in a bit of trouble." She hadn't noticed that he'd leaned closer to the edge of the bed since she was too busy being preoccupied by the way he was letting his fingers drift over hers and up her wrist.

"Confessing? What have I to confess to you, Balthier?" she asked quickly, and his other hand came up to cradle the back of her head. He pulled her down closer so that she could feel his breath against her face. Was this really happening or had Fran never woken her from sleep? She closed her eyes and tried to convince herself to pull away from him, but his lips were already on her own before she could complete a single thought.

She found herself going against her better judgment. She broke away, but only for a moment as she climbed into the bed beside him and let him kiss her again. It had been so long since she'd known another like this, and his hands were gentle against her skin.

Balthier's skin was still warm to the touch from his fever as he let his tongue run along her bottom lip. He finally broke his lips away from hers to tip her from her side onto her back, and before she realized it, he was atop her and pressing feather light kisses to her neck. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this," she heard him mutter against her skin. She released a shuddering breath as she felt his tongue dart out to taste the sensitive flesh of her neck, and that was precisely when she realized that something might be wrong.

Ashe tried to stir a bit beneath him, but suddenly his hands were tightly clasped around her wrists, and he used his weight advantage to keep her pinned against the mattress. "I've wanted this a long time, Princess. You smell perfect to me." Her terror increased a thousand fold as she felt him sniffing her skin as one would smell a fine cigar. Had Fran and Basch really been right? He released one of her wrists to let his fingers brush over her face.

"Balthier, please, we need to stop before this gets out of hand," she said meekly, letting her hand drift off of the mattress and down to the floor. How far away was that blasted stick? Was the man above her even really Balthier? Was he possessed? She felt several tiny kisses against the pulse of her throat. "Balthier, stop."

"Why?" he replied in a very low voice, a voice she did not recognize as his own, and she began to struggle harder against him.

"Basch!" she screamed and started using her legs to kick at him. "Fran!" Her fingers scraped along the floor desperately, and she desperately tried to breathe as she felt his teeth start to nip teasingly at her neck.

There was a loud bang as the door was opened and a rush of cooler air entered the room. "Majesty!" she heard Basch shout, and Balthier only tightened his grip on her. Ashe squeezed her eyes shut as Balthier seemed about ready to bite down on her. But suddenly he was off of her, and she could only exhale as she saw Fran's knee pinning the sky pirate down onto the floor. Basch was already holding the stake. "Highness, hold his arms down!"

Ashe could only scramble to her feet and obey, but she saw panic in Balthier's eyes then, as if he hadn't realized what he'd been doing. He was struggling against Fran's hold, and Ashe knelt down at his head and forced his wrists down against the floor. She watched his eyes look up to stare at her strangely, and she realized that he really had been possessed. "Basch, please…" she cried.

Her knight mumbled a brief apology and plunged the wooden stake straight into the middle of the sky pirate's chest, eliciting a very heartrending cry from Balthier. "Hold him steady!" Fran demanded, and Ashe did so. There was already a lot of blood, and footsteps elsewhere in the room and a pair of gasps indicated that Vaan and Penelo had joined them. Balthier was writhing in pain, and she watched tears stream from his eyes. She couldn't look away from the stake sticking out of his chest. Fran nodded, and Basch pulled the stake back out, and Balthier seemed to collapse to the floor completely still.

"Cure him. Now!" Basch shouted, and Ashe was stunned into shock. "Majesty, cure him! There's no time!"

She couldn't move, and everything seemed to blur in the room. Ashe felt like she was underwater and everything around her was moving slower than she was. Somehow Penelo appeared at her side, and Ashe watched the girl's lips move as she placed her hands over Balthier's chest. Vaan was on her other side then pulling her back away from Balthier's prone form on the floor. All she could think about was the events of the past few moments and how a moment she'd longed for with the sky pirate had almost turned deadly. She could hear Vaan's voice mumbling words of comfort in her ear, but she was unable to focus and felt lightheaded. And then she knew nothing at all.

--

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor nearby stirred her from rest. "Easy does it, Princess. You've had quite a shock." She opened her eyes quickly at the sound of Balthier's voice. His face was rather solemn, and she saw that his vest was gone. His shirt was unbuttoned and she could see the edges of some bandaging poking out where Basch had stabbed him. He was obviously completely recovered if Basch and Fran had allowed him to visit her in private.

"This really happened, didn't it?" she mumbled, pressing a hand to her forehead in disbelief.

He chuckled and brushed his fingers against the edge of his bandages. "Yes, it appears as such. To be honest with you, I remember waking up to find you hovering over me like some mothering hen, and I know we chatted about something, but I can't remember much else. It appears that the Captain stabbed me."

She sat up and pulled the blanket against her. He didn't remember that he'd tried to kill her? And almost more intriguing, he didn't remember kissing her? "Well, you did try to bite me."

"I did?" he asked, his voice more amused than apologetic. "Well, that was rather rude of me."

Ashe moved to lean back against the wall facing him. "Fran didn't explain about the Tepes?"

His face was confused. "She said it was best I get over the shock of nearly being stabbed to death with a pointy stick before she explained why. What's a Tepes?"

She couldn't resist smiling. "I think I'll let Fran and Basch handle that." The room was quiet then, and she found him staring at her. "What?"

Balthier quirked an eyebrow. "Answer this for me though, Princess. How did I manage to get close enough to try and take a bite out of you?"

Her face flushed almost instantly, and she looked down at the blankets. She hoped that Fran wouldn't fill in those blanks for him. "You just kind of launched yourself at me when I was trying to give you your medicine," she lied.

When she finally looked up again, she could tell he wasn't buying it. He stood up slowly, his face a pained grimace from both his leg wound and whatever chest pains were not alleviated by Penelo's curative spells. "Well, I suppose we both need some recovery time. I suppose we should just put this unpleasantness behind us."

She watched him move to the door. "Balthier…"

He stopped and looked back. "Yes, Princess?"

"You really don't remember?"

"Is there something you'd like me to remember?" His smirk had returned, and she knew that he had definitely forgotten what had happened between them.

She debated in her mind for a few moments, but perhaps it would be best if she just let him continue in ignorance. Starting a relationship with a sky pirate, especially a sky pirate who had nearly killed her because he'd been affected with some vampiric illness, would probably be unwise.

He was waiting patiently at the door. She thought back to the way he'd kissed her hand and her lips so lovingly before it had turned dangerous, and the memories of it would just have to sustain her. "No. It's nothing. I will get some rest now."

Balthier opened the door, and she lay back down and closed her eyes. His voice was soothing then. "Princess?"

"Yes?" She pulled the blanket over her and tried to ignore the sensations he could still stir within her despite what had happened just hours earlier.

"In future, I promise not to bite you without permission." She had no time to respond as the door clicked shut behind him.


End file.
